HERMANN —The Bearcats dropped their second consecutive game on the road Friday night, Oct. 12, falling to the St. Clair Bulldogs by the final score of 26-55.

Hermann (5-2) got off to a good start for their final regular season road game, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter, but as with their previous game against Sullivan, St. Clair’s run game would prove to be too much for the Bearcats to handle.

Unlike Sullivan’s slow but steady offensive possessions that saw them end up with 283 rushing yards against Hermann, St. Clair was able to more frequently create the bigger, explosive plays that allow a team to score 55 points and amass a total of 577 rushing yards in the game.

After both of Hermann’s early touchdowns, including the first of the game to go up 7-0, the Bulldogs soon came back and tied things up and the game remained tied after the first quarter of play.

However, it was a big second quarter that helped St. Clair to pull away and without a response from the Bearcats they scored three touchdowns to take a 35-14 lead into halftime.

The 35 first-half points the Bulldogs scored were the most Hermann had allowed in any full game to that point, with the next closest total being the 20 Sullivan had scored the week before.

The Bearcats scored twice in the second half but turnovers, including a pick-six, hobbled their offensive efforts and helped St. Clair score another three times over the final two quarters leading to their eventual 55-26 win.

Hermann had 309 yards of total offense in the game, with a number of players involved in the run game and getting in on the passing offense.

Aiden Eikermann and Caden Humphrey had particularly strong outings on the ground, with Eikermann rushing for 91 yards on seven carries and scoring two touchdowns and Humphrey rushing for 63 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown.

Bearcats’ quarterback Henry Allebach had an effective night, completing 12 of 19 passing attempts for a 63.16 completion percentage, 146 yards and a touchdown, but did throw a pick-six in the third quarter.

He connected with four different receivers at least twice, but Daeden Hopkins would finish the game leading his team with five receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Nolan Mercier was the second highest receiver with 23 yards on three receptions.

With the loss, Hermann’s record in the Four Rivers Conference dropped to 2-2 with their final two games of the regular season being conference matches.

The Bearcats will take on the first of those two conference foes when they play the Pacific Indians at home Friday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m.